1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a blast containment vessel, and more particularly, to a containment vessel that can be used for the safe containment, transportation, and disposal of an explosive device having a biological or chemical agent associated with it.
2. Description of Related Art
Increased terrorist incidents have heightened awareness of the vulnerability to potential terrorist activity and the terrorist's willingness to strike targets in the United States. One particular concern that has extremely harmful results is the potential of an improvised explosive device (IED) that has a biological or chemical agent associated with it. Thus, a need exists for blast containment vessels that can be used for the safe containment, transportation, and disposal of these devices.
Currently, NABCO, Inc. provides a total containment vessel (TCV) and an upscale total containment vessel (UTCV). The TCV is capable of being a sealed or gas-tight vessel. The TCV has an external door, in addition to an internal blast door, which bolts in place by hand through 16 bolts. There are various ports that facilitate sampling the interior atmosphere of the vessel, decontaminating the interior of the vessel, and initiating a counter charge to detonate the IED.
In a sealed blast containment vessel, a challenging aspect is the complete containment of the high pressure atmosphere during a detonation without any (or extremely low levels of) leakage. The most critical location for mitigating leakage is around the door (the largest opening in the vessel).